Black Plague
03-12-2010, 04:02 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Torii-Hunter-calls-black-Latino-players-impostors-031010
Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter insists he meant no harm toward Latino players when he recently referred to them as "impostors" while discussing the number of African-Americans in the major leagues.
In the report, Hunter was quoted as saying: "People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African-American. They're not us. They're impostors. Even people I know come up and say: 'Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?' I say, 'Come on, he's Dominican. He's not black.' ...
"As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us. It's like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?' ... I'm telling you, it's sad," he said.
There has been some concern about the number of African-American baseball players. Many blacks are choosing to play other sports instead.
Black players accounted for 10.2 percent of major leaguers in 2008, the most since the 1995 season, according to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter insists he meant no harm toward Latino players when he recently referred to them as "impostors" while discussing the number of African-Americans in the major leagues.
In the report, Hunter was quoted as saying: "People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African-American. They're not us. They're impostors. Even people I know come up and say: 'Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?' I say, 'Come on, he's Dominican. He's not black.' ...
"As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us. It's like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?' ... I'm telling you, it's sad," he said.
There has been some concern about the number of African-American baseball players. Many blacks are choosing to play other sports instead.
Black players accounted for 10.2 percent of major leaguers in 2008, the most since the 1995 season, according to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.